ADVENTUREBOOTH!
by perpetuallyplain
Summary: Finn the human is bored. Whats this box? Join him on his journey to rescue princesses Rhyme and Reason. Inspired by Norton Juster's book "The Phantom Tollbooth"


There was once a boy named Finn who didn't know what to do with himself. Life had slowed to a gloomy mundane halt for young Finn. No longer were there evils to vanquish and corruption to solve. Nothing really interested him anymore- least of all the things that should have. BMO, his little handheld gaming device, hadn't amused Finn in days. The days filled once with imagination and innovation in his life had faded and left his waking hours bleak.

Today, he had rolled out of his fur (and pelt and blanket and dirty clothes) covered bed, and changed from his red long johns to his usual white hat and blue adventuring outfit. Finn climbed down his trunk-ladder of the tree house where he lived. After conjuring and devouring a healthy rounded breakfast for a young adventurer like himself, he slumped over to his couch and groaned, "Another long afternoon."

He lay on his couch and let one arm and one leg dangle off the edge as his eyes lazily lolled around, gazing about the room. On the coffee table sat BMO quietly humming. The books scattered around were too much trouble to read. Spread around in piles were his spoils of war; weapons, gold, jewels, a small electric car, and assorted enchanted objects, but nothing quite held his attention.

Young Finn resolved to have an adventure outside today. As he loaded up his pack with the essentials, (snacks, sword, bits of string, a violin) he wondered where and who he would visit today. His friends had all been busy with their own lives lately and hadn't quite needed his help. He decided to just head out and see what happened.

Finn exited the tree house with a fresh new vigor. Almost instantaneously, however, the clouds overhead burst and a torrent of rain poured down. "What?! You gotta be flippin' kidding me!" he shouted in exasperation. Should he continue out on his aimless quest soaked to the bone, or turn back and save himself the trouble? Finn sighed and headed back inside.

Back on the couch, again he looked glumly at all the things he owned...Hold on! On one side of the room, right next to an unicycle, Finn noticed something he certainly had never seen before. A large package stood by itself. Who could have possibly left such an enormous package? It wasn't square, it wasn't round and it was definitely HUGE!

Attached to the side was a gleaming blue envelope which read: "FOR FINN, WHO HAS PLENTY OF TIME."

Now, strange things were always happening in the land of Ooo, but this was one of the most exciting. Finn was beaming; nothing this mysterious and puzzling had happened in quite some time. He tore the envelope from the side of the box and opened it: "ONE GENUINE TURNPIKE TOLLBOOTH," it read, "EASILY ASSEMBLED AT HOME, AND FOR USE BY THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER TRAVELED IN LANDS BEYOND."

The letter went on to say, "THIS PACKAGE CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING ITEMS:  
One (1) genuine authentic turnpike tollbooth to be assembled according to directions.  
Three (3) precautionary signs to be used in a precautionary fashion.  
Assorted coins for use in paying tolls.  
One (1) map, up to date and carefully drawn by master cartographers, depicting natural as well as man-made features.  
One (1) book of rules and traffic regulations, which may not be bent or broken."

In smaller letters at the bottom, the letter disclaimed:  
_RESULTS ARE NOT GUARANTEED, BUT IF NOT PERFECTLY SATISFIED, WASTED TIME MAY BE REFUNDED._

Finn hurriedly went to assembling the tollbooth following the instructions. Soon, it was unpacked completely and set in place complete with windows, a roof and a small coin box. The whole booth was a faint purple color and fairly intimidating. Finn moved on to the signs that were left, placing them next to the booth,

"SLOW DOWN APPROACHING TOLLBOOTH."

"PLEASE HAVE YOUR FARE READY."

"KEEP YOUR DESTINATION IN MIND."

Finn unfolded the map and saw no familiar landmarks of Ooo; no Candy Kingdom or Ice Mountains could be found. So instead, he picked the funniest named place- "Dictionopolis" and made an X over it with his finger. He raced over to the little car, loaded it with his pack, map and the rule book and drove up to the tollbooth. Finn deposited the few coins into the box and drove forward.


End file.
